“I’ve been waiting for your love.”

Dating in 2020 was a very different experience. Covid made it difficult to meet people so we ended up utilizing online dating. Personally, I was feeling really down when it came to dating so I was giving it one last shot with OkCupid. We both swiped right and matched with each other with a high compatibility percentage! I messaged Jordan first about gaming and we talked for a few days, but then stopped. Jordan decided to give it one more shot and messaged me again and we haven’t stopped since. Since we were in the midst of the beginning of the pandemic, we had to be creative with dates. We did virtual dates and our first in person date was at a park in Wallingford which was halfway between both of us since I was in Ellington and he was in Norwalk. We got Sonic and laid out a blanket at the park and talked for hours. (Fun fact: We went back to that park after we toured and booked our venue!) We continued to go on dates until we made it official on July 4th! The rest is history. -Kelly

The story of our proposal is a wild one that gave us many unforgettable memories. Jordan decided to ask me to marry him right on the river at one of my favorite places: Camping on the Battenkill. The journey to get there, however, was a rollercoaster. Going camping with my family at Battenkill is one of my favorite things to do. We have been doing it for almost 15 years. Our site is directly on the river which makes sitting by the campfire reading a book one of the most peaceful things I have experienced. Every year I’ve been with Jordan, he has come along camping with me and my family. Sharing Battenkill with him has brought me a lot of happiness. However, for our camping trip this year, a few days before we were supposed to drive up, that massive storm hit Vermont and caused horrific flooding. My parents were evacuated from their other campground that they were about to leave to head to Battenkill because it was beginning to flood and they needed everyone to leave before the water rose above the bridge. They were trapped on the side of the road because of road closures. Luckily, the sheriff helped them find a way to Battenkill where they set up camp at the site next to ours just in case our site flooded. Well, spoiler alert: it did. They were evacuated AGAIN further out in the field several more sites down. Our site was completely under water and the water reached the road. At this point, we didn’t know what the future held for our joining of the trip. I was heartbroken but we decided to just go and stay in the other site with the hope that the water will recede and they can fix our site giving us at least a couple of days there. Come Wednesday, we arrive. We have a nice night and then when we were turning in, a beetle flew into my dad’s ear so far that we couldn’t even see it. After trying to get it out safely, we gave up out of fear of injuring him and decided we had to go to the ER since walk in clinics were closed at 10pm. Jordan volunteered immediately to take him since it was a 30 min drive and I went along. WELL, they couldn’t get it out. We spent 5 hours in the waiting room, being silly and delirious, watching videos, making beds out of the seats, and making bets. Even though it was 5 hours, the time flew because I was with Jordan. We didn’t leave until 3:30am. The next day, my mom and dad traveled an hour to NY where an ENT doctor got the beetle out in 5 minutes. Later in the day, Jordan and I went on a walk around the campground with our dog Jackson, my sister Kara, and her dog Beanie. During the walk, we stopped at the beach section of the river. As I passed Jordan, he tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to see him getting on one knee reaching for Jackson’s harness. The ring was in there! (He had to snag it before Jackson went into the river) After, we got back to the campsite where my parents were waiting with champagne. Truly a rollercoaster of events but I wouldn’t change anything about it. It is one to remember and a wild story that we will tell for the rest of our lives. It just continued to prove that a life with Jordan is one filled with laughter, love, and making the best out of any situation. -Kelly